Refrigerator shelf



March 7, 1939.

W. l. HAMBY REFRIGERATOR SHELF Filed Jilly 23, 1955 4 fr l,, ,43

INVENT OR.

' may ATTORNEY.

trated.

'atented Mar. 7, 1939 William I. Hamby, Great Neck,

to Serve], Inc., New York, N. gY.,

of Delaware N. Y., assignor' a corporation Application July 23, 1935, Serial No. 32,742

9 Claims. .This invention relates to refrigerator shelves tlld it is an object of the invention to provide an,

mproved shelf which may be readily removed mm or adjusted to diflerent positions in a refrigarator cabinet.

It is a further object to provide a refrigerator :torage compartment which is free of projecting ahelf supports and, therefore, neat in appearance and easy to keep clean.

The invention, together with the objects and advantages thereof, will appear upon considera- ;ion of the following description taken in conlunction with the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification and of which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a refrigerator shelf and a section of a refrigerator storage compartment wall illustrating an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fdig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 in Fig. 1; an

Fig. 4 is a view like Fig. 3 showing the shelf support in operated position.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated one corner of a refrigerator shelf and an adjacent portion of the inner wall of a refrigerator. It will be understood that the shelf is supported by the wall of the refrigerator at a desired level by means of a suitable number of shelf supports. In the interest of clarity in this disclosure, only one of the several like shelf supports is here illus- Referring more particularly to erator shelf It) comprises a peripheral wire frame ll having struts l2 extending the width of the shelf and supporting suitable rodaor ribbons I; which extend in thedirection of the depth of the shelf. The peripheral frame and struts i2 in the present embodiment, are rectangular in crosssection, and the bars or ribbons l3 are' relatively flat. Secured to the shelf l isv a member which may-be referred toss a shelf support, and which projects from beneath one side of the shelf into a suitable indentation IS in the liner or side wall ii of the refrigerator storage compartment.

It will be understood that the shelf I0 is provided on each side with, for instance, two supporting projections like the shelf liner or storage compartment wall I6 is with acorresponding number of indentations .at the desired level, so that the determined by the. level of the indentations l5. The shelf support I, as may be seen by referring to Figs. 1 to 3inclusive, comprises amember Fig.1, a refrigsupport i4, and that the provided shelf lliis supported in the refrigerator storage compartment at a level llattached to the shelf ID by means of a resilient strip l8 which may be referred to as a spring leaf. The projecting end of the member i1 is preferably rounded to conform to the shape of the indentation I 5. The other end of the member ll extends beneath one end of a frame strut l2. The member I1 is recessed on its upper surface to receive the end of the strut i2 and the adjacent portion 'of the peripheral frame it. The recessed upper surface of the member I1 is formed to provide two flanges 20 which extend upwardly, one on each side of the frame strut l2 behind the peripheral frame member ll. spring leaf I8 is attached to'the strut l2, as, for instance, by rivets I9. The other end of the spring leaf I8 is connected to the member ll. The lower side of the member I], which is inclined upwardly in the direction of the shelf, may

be formed with a groove. as shown, to receive the intermediate portion of the spring leaf 18. The member Il may be formed of any suitable mate-- rial as, for instance, molded Bakelite or hard rubber. If the member H is formed by amolding process the end of the spring leaf l8 may be secured thereto by molding with the end of the spring leaf as an insert.

When the shelf I0 is I ator cabinet, the end of the shelf support member i1 is engaged in an indentation l and the edge of the shelf rests in the upper recessed surface of the member ll. From the above description,- it will be understood that the shelf support It is, in effect, resiliently pivoted or hinged to the underside of the shelf at a point set in from the edgeof the shelf. To remove the shelf Ill, each of the shelf supports may be flexed downwardly against the action of the' spring leaf i8, as illusin position in a refriger- One end of the trated in Fig. 4, thereby disengaging the member a ll from the indentation I5. The flanges on each side of'thestrut I! act as guides, preventing twisting or lateral movement of the support. In

order that the level ofthe shelf ill in a refrigerator cabinet may be adjusted, the liner-or refrigator compartment wall may .be provided with-a.

made the scope I by the following -1. A refrigerator shelf including a supportany number of sets of member located beneath said shelf and projecting beyond an edge-of theshelf to engage a wall or a refrigerator storage compartment, and resilient means connecting said member to said shelf, said resilient means normally holding said sup-. port member against the bottom of said shelf but permitting said member to be flexed in a downward arcuate path for disengagement from said refrigerator wall.

2. A refrigerator shelf including a support member located beneath said shelf. and a resilient member having one end attached to said support member and the other end attached to the under side ofsaid shelf at a point set in from the edge of the shelf, said resilient member normally holding said supp rt member against the .bottom of said shelf with one end 'of said support inember projecting beyond an edge of the shelf for engagement with a projection on a wall of. a refrigerator storage compartment, but permitting flexure of said support member in a downward arcuate path for disengagement from said wall projection. a

3. In a refrigerator shelf adapted to be supported by side walls of a refrigerator storage compartment, a support member located beneath said shelf, and a resilient member joining said support member to said shelf, said resilient member normally holding said. support member against the bottom of said shelf with a part of said support member projecting beyond the edge of said shelf to engage arefrigerator wall, and said resilient member permitting flexure of said support member downward and away from said wall to permit release of said shelf.

4. In combination, a refrigerator shelf, a shelf support member hinged on the bottom of said shelf at a point set in from the edge of said shelf, and a resilient member connected to said shelf and said shelf support, said resilient member being arranged to urge said shelf support against the bottom of said shelf with a portion of the shelf support projecting beyond an edge of the shelf but permitting said shelf support to be swung downward to facilitate adjustment of said shelf or removal from a refrigerator storage compartment.

5. ha refrigerator shelf, a supporting member located beneath said shelf, a leaf spring having one end connected to said shelf at a point set in from an edge of said shelf and the other end. connected to said support member, said leaf spring urging 'said support member against the bottom of said shelf with a part projecting beyond an edge of. said shelf for engagement with a refflgerator,.,,wall but permitting downward movement of said support member to facilitate disengagement, from said. wall.

6. A refrigerator shelf including a generally rectangular frame having struts, cross bars supported on said frame, a support member of molded material arranged so that an edge of the shelf rests -,ihereon, and a resilient member amaeos having one end embedded in said support member and the other end attached to the underside of .one of said frame struts at a point set in from the edge of the shelf. to permit downward flexure of said support member for disengagement from a wall of a refrigerator storage compartment, said support member having flanges at its upper edge forming a vertical guide on each side of said strut and having a groove along its lower edge to receive said resilient member.

7. A refrigerator: shelf provided with a plurality of supporting means adapted to engage opposite walls of a refrigerator storage compartment for maintaining the shelf in stable position therein, each of said supporting means at one side of the shelf comprising a member extending beyond an edge of the shelf and having a flat upper surface and an inclined lower surface, the flat upper surface being adapted to bear against the underside of theshelf, and means including a resilient leaf spring fixed to the shelf and the inclinedlower surface of said member for flexing said member downwardly in a vertical plane.

8. A refrigerator shelf comprising a substantially rectangular-shaped"frame, bars spaced' from and parallel to two opposite sides of said frame and normal to the opposite opposing sides thereof, a plurality of supporting means adapted to engage opposite walls of a refrigerator storage compartment for maintaining the shelf in stable position therein, each of thesupporting means at one side of the frame comprising a member extending beyond a side of the frame and having a flat upper surface portion adapted to bear against the under side of a bar and an inclined lower surface portion, said member having a vertical surface portion adjacent the upper flat portion adapted to bear against an outer edge of a side of the frame, means; including a resilient leaf spring fixed to the bar and the inclined surface of the member to provide a pivotal connection for flexing said member downwardly in a vertical plane, and .upwardly extending flanges fixed to each side of said member between the pivotal connection and the inner edge of a side of the frame'to provide a vertical guide at each side of the bar. 

